Light-Induced Degradation of Perovskite Solar Cells: The Influence of 4-Tert-Butyl Pyridine and Gold

Abstract

Stability is one of the key challenges for industrial scale commercialization of perovskite solar cells. In this work, a degradation mechanism that depends on materials and bias conditions of the device during light-soaking is proposed. The observed degradation is linked to the additive 4-tert-butyl pyridine (tBP), crucial to the hole transport layer of most perovskite solar cells, and gold. This conclusion is reached through the statistical analysis of multiple compositional profiles of light-soaked and nonlight-soaked devices and by selective replacement of material layers of the device. Moreover, the rate of the light-induced degradation is enhanced by operation at forward bias, which is required for power generation. Thus, this work stresses the need for the development of transport layers that do not require tBP, and to replace gold to produce high-performing devices that are also stable under operating conditions.